Environmental health responses to COVID 19 in Western Australia: Lessons for the future

Authors

Jacques Oosthuizen, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Melissa Stoneham
Toni Hannelly
Edmore Masaka, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Giverny Dodds
Victor Andrich

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Title

International journal of environmental research and public health

Volume

19

Issue

15

PubMed ID

35954750

Publisher

MDPI

School

School of Medical and Health Sciences

RAS ID

45378

Comments

Oosthuizen, J., Stoneham, M., Hannelly, T., Masaka, E., Dodds, G., & Andrich, V. (2022). Environmental health responses to COVID 19 in Western Australia: Lessons for the future. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(15), 9393. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159393

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic tested the health system of Western Australia (WA) and the relatively new overarching legislative framework that guided the state-wide public health response to the pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate the experiences and roles of environmental health officers (EHOs) in WA during the management of COVID-19 and to identify any policy changes that are needed to facilitate the rapid deployment of EHOs during a future public health crisis. An online survey with 78 respondents was administered and analysis was both qualitative and quantitative. It was found that participants believed there was inadequate resourcing, workforce shortages, increased workloads, and a lack of recognition and integration of the profession within the COVID-19 response. Notably, more than 65 % of the respondents believed they could have been better utilised during the pandemic. This research has demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic in WA had clear gaps in its processes for managing responses and resilience to pandemics. Policy recommendations outlining a more efficient and integrated delivery of environmental health services throughout the state during emergencies are discussed.

DOI

10.3390/ijerph19159393

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.